El Salvador

It was great for our team to get back to the clinic Speroway built in El Salvador, in large part due to the generosity of the C.H. Stiller Memorial Foundation and the Pottruff Foundation.
Our dental team was led by dentist Dr. Jack Cottrell and he was joined by fellow dentists

Our final clinic day took us to the largest slum area in the country. The 1st of December is a community we have visited before. This is visit number 5 to be exact and this place and it’s people hold a special place in the hearts of many of our

If yesterday’s ceremonial dedication of our brand new permanent clinic at San José Villanueva was the dress rehearsal, today was opening night! We inaugurated the new clinic with over 1,000 patients as we set up shop in and around this beautiful new building. As we got off the bus at

Today will be remembered as a monumental turning point for Speroway and the people of San José Villanueva. And it’s not because we saw and treated 1,000 patients – we didn’t. And it’s not because we performed 250 challenging dental procedures – we didn’t. And it’s certainly not

Our third clinic day saw us revisiting familiar territory in the community of Tepecoyo. Previous team visits provided a familiarity with the school we were working in. Veteran team members suggested what rooms were suited best for each department and we were setup and ready to start in

Our third day in El Salvador and second clinic day started off with a one hour drive to San Pablo Tacachico. The mornings have become routine already with breakfast, pack up our supplies, load up the buses and drive. Our arrival was met with a smaller crowd than we had

DAY 2: SANTO TOMAS
A 30 minute bus ride from San Salvador, the village of Santo Tomas was buzzing by 7:00am when the Dental team arrived for set up. As soon as we had the generators running, our dedicated team of dental professionals had their portable dental units running and drills were

After arriving after dark last night and a having brief time of introduction to the rest of the team before bed, today was all about getting ready for the week. Lots of preparation required to help these days go off as smoothly and efficiently as possible. A handful of the

The crowd applauded and the cameras clicked as the first shovelful of cement dropped into the foundation of the new medical clinic in San Jose Villanueva, El Salvador. The ceremony signified the launch of a new phase in the Speroway plan to bring medical care to the disadvantaged people of

Another major highlight was our trip to Remar, an orphanage that is home to over 80 children. This was not Speroway’ first visit to Remar, a place where we have provided medical and dental care to the orphans and the surrounding community on three previous

On the morning of April 10th, four of us headed to Toronto airport to board a plane to San Salvador, El Salvador’s capital city. Even though I travel a lot, this trip was a unique event for me because I rarely travel with a professional

Notes from Ken Dick, Friday April 1, 2011: Somalia, El Salvador: This is the squatter area on the fringe of San Salvador. We have visited this community twice before. We know we will be working under tarpaulins in crude wood structures and we have been told there is a threat